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They were friends growing up in the Poughkeepsie area, attending Catholic school at St. Martin’s and then Our Lady of Lourdes High School. Now as adults, Dan Gutowski and Omar Perez are both still running and making their miles count along the way.

Last November, Perez — a more seasoned long-distance runner — paced Gutowski, a former track sprinter and soccer player, to a personal-best time of 3:19:48 at the New York City Marathon. Because of the world we live in now, these two buddies have to pursue their goals together, but from a distance. Last weekend, they did just that.

Gutowski, currently living on Cape Cod, ran 50 kilometers (31 miles) in Falmouth, Massachusetts in an effort to raise money for City Meals on Wheels, a nonprofit organization that delivers food to homebound elderly New Yorkers. With the usual crowd-sourcing methods that young adults are so good at these days, Gutowski raised more than $5,000 for this worthy cause.

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Back home in Dutchess County, Perez supported his buddy by running 30 miles. Perez, who had a strong long-distance running career at Lourdes and then at Marist College, has become one of the area’s fastest marathon runners.

“I have known Dan since middle school,” Perez wrote in an email. “As do many, he took up long-distance running as a way to stay in shape. He has come a long way since he first started running marathons.”

Gutowski live-streamed the event on Instagram. He had a different friend DJ the event every hour. His dad provided him bike support and he ended up completing the 50k in 4:21 (8:24 pace) of running time with a total time of 5:02. He stopped a few times so he could coordinate his video feed and eat some food. “It was a great event to follow,” Perez said. “Lots of people logged on to watch.”

Perez logged his 30 miles in 4:24:37 (8:49 pace) of running time, with a total time of 5:05:52. “I stopped a few times to change outfits and hydration breaks,” he said. Perez’ and Gutowski’s OLL classmate, Catherine Ferreri, ran the first eight miles with Perez and then rode her bike alongside him for the next 22 miles — all at the appropriate distance, of course.

As races continue to be shuttered for the foreseeable future, social media and virtual events like these are likely to become the new face of our sport. The key to resilience is adaptability, and it is heartening to see our local running community doing just that. Here are a few more examples of upcoming events transitioning to this way of thinking — our new normal.

Waddling virtually

Thanks to Lisa Perks for emailing me an update on this Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club race that has become a fun family tradition in the spring.

The WA WA Wally Waddle 5K, held every Mother’s Day at Vassar Farm and Ecological Preserve in Poughkeepsie, switched to a virtual race that maintains its key features: fun for all ages and unique prizes. This flexible virtual race asks runners to record their best 5K time anytime until May 4 and submit it through a simple online form. 

The race raises money for WA WA Segowea camper scholarships. With that camp theme in mind, race prizes are handmade friendship bracelets. Prizes will be given out for age-group winners, best picture, competitor who lives the farthest from camp, fastest dog, and many other fun categories. 

As a fundraiser, the race does ask for a $10 donation from each registered participant. Camp families are facing financial struggles and could really use more help this summer. But the organizers also want to make the race as inclusive as possible. Please email Lisa Perks (lisa@smithpark.org) if you’d like to register but need the registration fee waived. No questions asked, she’ll get participants all set up.

Register through this link: https://smithpark.org/virtual-wally-waddle

C.T.W. virtual run

Steve Estremera of Conquer The World endurance events reached out to tell us about their virtual event for this week. Registration is open online until Saturday. Race fee is just $5 with proceeding going to the First Responder Children Foundation Covid-19 Emergency Response Fund.

Runners sign up for a varied of fixed-time options — 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours — and pick any day through May 3 to run and see how many miles can be logged in that time. You must track the run using a GPS watch or app and send the screenshot or link of results. More details are at the below links. Estremera said CTW encourages everyone to share on social media tagging us @ctwendurance or hashtags: #ctwendurance, #ctwvirtualenduranceruns. 

Here is the facebook link for the event: www.facebook.com/events/228325341689795/ and the registration link is ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=76984 

As a reminder, all virtual runs still take place in this new reality of our pandemic lives. Remember to practice safe and appropriate social distancing. We can all do this together: For a distance, at a distance.

Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club member Pete Colaizzo, the track coach at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, writes on running every week in Players. He can be reached at runhed246@hotmail.com. For more club information, go to www.mhrrc.org

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